Iron Man 1
by True ShapeShifter
Summary: Hey! This is a Fanfiction based on the film 'Iron Man 1' It may skip over small parts of the film but I have tried to describe the main parts of the film reasonably nicely :) May be a bit graphic... I am terrible at summaries 0 o Please read and REVIEW on my first ever Fanfiction! :) Very much appreciated! Little Pepperony. Disclaimer: I OWN NONE OF 'IRON MAN' ETC!
1. Chapter 1

**Here is my first ever Fanfiction! Please don't be to harsh on me in reviews! **

**Disclaimer: I OWN NONE OF THE CHARACTERS ETC OF MARVEL and mean NO OFFENCE to any actors, readers of this post, or marvel/film company etc! NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS MEANT! Here goes… hope you like it… based on IM1, but sorry if I rush and skip over parts of the detail or what happens in the film, and the script won't be exact, also sorry if it is all a little vague and jumps about a bit - see Iron Man 1 and it should be more clear…. Sorry lol! PLEASE REVIEW AND I MAY WRITE ANOTHER CHAPTER! **** much appreciated **

There - he heard it… voices…

His mind was a blur… he couldn't think… no, he, Tony Stark is a genius - he is_ always_ thinking, he just didn't know _what to_ think. He heard echoes… and murmurs of indistinguishable speech. Speech which must have come from the mouth of the man who was the source of the immense pain Tony felt course through his entire, depleted body. No - it wasn't the only source, as he was _already_ in immense pain. His chest and parts of his abdomen were burning - they felt as though pins had pierced his skin in swift painful movements, and then shards of glass had entered his very body at colossal force. He was a little aware of people tightly holding him down to the cold surface, probably a table of sorts. They were all around him, crowding him. The men were forcing his limbs down, down, restraining him, keeping his arms and legs from protecting his chest, keeping him captive, squashing him under their strength, keeping him under the knife of another man - keeping him in pain. He felt claustrophobic, weak, defenceless, exposed, vulnerable; Anyone could apply pressure to his wounds and he couldn't stop them from inflicting the pain upon him. Panic rose within him like a wave of suffocating water and burning pain. If he could have lifted his eyelids his eyes would have been wide with terror and panic. If he could escape he would have run, panting, and collapsed, screwing himself into a tight ball in a dark corner where no one could find him to hurt him. He had never experienced anything like this. He needed to get back home. His chest heaved.

Suddenly his mind was hit with a flashback - he saw it… his name, proudly promoting the weapon it was printed onto. Tony was there - he felt his face turn white. He watched it back in his mind. His face was pale, and his eyes widened in shock and terror, and sudden realisation of his situation. He felt the force of his missile as it exploded and sent him flying backwards...

Tony was abruptly brought out of his flashback as a sharp scalpel sliced deeply into his flesh. He tried to open his eyes but couldn't. He tried to speak but couldn't. He tried to thrash - the result of which was another burst of pain as the slight movement caused the scalpel to accidentally tear his skin in the wrong direction. He heard the voices again, sounding angry. He was NOT in a hospital… the voices were of a language he did not understand let alone speak. He tried to thrash again, but his body was feeling weaker and weaker with every flash of pain, and panic overwhelmed him, his breathing, his pulse, his heart rate - all increasing with rapidity, like the quickening beeps before the missile had exploded. He meant to groan and whine, but made a small, gurgling growl - he seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness throughout his 'surgery'. He had to get out.

He pulled together each shred of energy as his chest burned and excruciating pain enthralled his body. This time, in a moment of consciousness, he thrashed relatively hard. He heard shouts, and the grip on his body, which had been loosened when he fell deeply and notably unconscious, was tightened again. He continued to thrash and could feel he was putting up a somewhat worthy battle for someone with their chest exposed and burning. He groaned again as they pinned him down to the hard surface, squashing him against it. He tried to move again, but further pressure was put upon the only limbs he could flail. He felt trapped. He _was_ trapped.

His chest felt as though it was exploding, and as he moaned he opened his eyes and saw the bloodied hands entering his chest again, with an instrument which shined in the grimy light. His head, which was raised a little, was slammed back down onto the surface as a hand pushed his forehead. He felt each muscle of his body fall limp as he was, again, brought into unconsciousness and a flashback - a continuation… In slow motion he saw the shrapnel burst from the weapon. He felt sharp edges cut through his protective clothing - he was at such short range who knows the out come of his encounter? Tony saw himself hit the ground with such force he used all his adrenalin to raise his head to see the blood spurt out of his protective vest, before everything span, he felt faint with pain, and the desire to sleep became an unbearable urge, as he saw blackness swarm him…

The shrapnel - still in his subconscious flashback he registered it - The piercing of his skin, the burning of his flesh, the cutting of each layer of tissue as it diced up his chest and headed for his heart, the warm trickling of blood, the pain, the coughs, the confusion, the terror, the- BLACK.

Tony Stark, around 36 or so hours earlier, was to receive an award. As his usual self, however, the 'Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist', was surrounded by young, hot, sexy women as he prepared to rake in more cash down in the casino, dice (or woman) in one hand and scotch in the other. The smiling, seductive, handsome and cocky Tony welcomed Rhodes, his friend, as he approached. Oops - he was supposed to be at that awards ceremony… the award which was placed in his hand (as he let go of one of the women) showed why exactly he should have been there… oh well, as quickly as he was given it by the less than amused Rhodes, he set it down to pick up his dice. 'This one's for Rhodes' He exclaimed, before letting them jump across the table and… oh, ok, Rhodes - not got the best of luck right now have we? As the dice lost Tony a little of his cash. 'Oh well I think we'll be just fine' He said in conclusion, before leaving with James (Jim) Rhodes tailing him, dodging the reporters which followed.

As he tinkered in his lab/Workshop, Miss Potts' even, steady footsteps echoed about the spacious, high-tech room, as her high heeled feet carried her, looking smart and professional as always. Turning down Tony's music as she entered, she looked at her clipboard and went to speak before being cut off by Tony- 'Please don't turn my music down' he said coolly. She paused a second, shook it of before attempting again to get some sense out of him. She knew that attitude meant 'yep, ok I don't really care so stop annoying me, say yes or no to the company people, let me get on and I ain't going nowhere' With this in mind, she quick fired at him some yes or no queries, and not being happy with the results made up her own mind about it. 'now come on, Mr. Stark, your private plane has been awaiting your arrival for three hours!' she said assertively yet not strictly 'isn't that the point of a PRIVATE plane? To have it when you want it?' he retorted, half annoyed at the amount of money going towards a plane that was supposed to wait for him, and half amused at Peppers failing attempts to get rid of him. ''Are you trying to get rid of me?' He added; 'Well, yes, I suppose so,' Pepper said, 'as I have plans' she smirked. 'Plans?! ' Pepper was almost amused at the cock-your-head-on-one-side confused puppy dog expression 'I don't like it when you have plans!' She bowed her head and pouted, teasingly acknowledging this factor, before giving her attempt to knock him flat with a reason as for her plans, and a very legit one at that - 'its my birthday' she said in a (almost seductive and unprofessional) quiet tone. Unexpectedly, his tone softened 'Oh - so soon?' and as a reply to 'same day as last year' from the now slightly smiling Pepper, he decided 'oh - buy something nice from me' before slowly shifting towards the door 'Already have' Pepper said somewhat cheekily in reply.

The plane ride was pretty good, considering Tony was not in he best of books with Rhodes, who had stood awaiting him for three hours. Thankfully, and rather tactfully, Tony had managed to get Rhodes drunk, and relaxed, therefore avoiding a plane journey with a grumpy-guts colonel. Finally they reached their destination - Afghanistan, where Tony was to do (and did) a presentation on the new Jericho missile, made for the military. This went pretty well, but on the way back from the presentation, the car in front exploded, sending glass and metal debris everywhere...

This is where the disorientation started. Tony was jerked into reality, real, reality - with death and ragged, bloodied clothes, as the breaks where slammed on, and all of the young soldiers leapt from the truck. Tony dived down, but was hesitant as he did not know what to do. 'Give me a gun!' he shouted as his heart raced and adrenalin kicked in. The last soldier had left. A flak of bullets made daylight flood the vehicle, and crimson blood splatter the remaining, cracked window pain, as the young soldier was killed. Tony, taken aback, stumbled out of the hum-vee and ran behind a rock, trying to contact Pepper and give Jarvis his location. Then he heard the dull thud of a missile landing next to him… it was his own design. He remembered each process of making it… each beep that it's timer made, caused his heart rate to race - before he found himself restrained, a material bag over his head, which was removed, making his eyes uncomfortable (but no way near as uncomfortable as the rest of his weak body) at the sudden flood of light which was shone into his eyes, in an interogational and threatening way. He looked around with an expression of 'oh crap', 'whaaaat?' and plain pain and shock. He saw that he was being recorded as some foreign script was read out. The unbearably tight bandages he felt round his chest told him that this was 'the outcome of the surgery'… then he blacked out again…

Now here he was - his 'surgery' done, coming round to find himself in a cave. In his black out, he became aware of something…

_Didn't Pepper have plans? But what? Why? Oh yeah… oh no, - Its her Birthday! I've gone missing on her birthday! Oh damn it she will be worried sick and this shall surely be the worst birthday of her life! _Tony thought before coming to consciousness and forgetting his last thought. However, as those thoughts swam through his battered head, reaching his battered heart, he felt a little sadness and real affection for a woman - for Pepper, and, for practically the first time also - slight guilt, even over this force for which he couldn't control… Pepper… his mind whispered before he jolted awake…

…

**….Hope that was OK! Please Review and I shall then most probably be encouraged to write another **** Remember its my first so please be nice! **

**Enjoy! Thank you :)**

**- True Shapeshifter **


	2. Chapter 2

**Heya People! Thank you for your support ^_^ and I'm sorry this is a reasonably short / uneventful chapter… I have now included more definite P.O.V's, sorry if its confusing - I've never done any before! This chapter is a short part / scene of the film, but I have added more thoughts, so it is longer… I realise if I carry on like this it will take SOOOO many chapters to complete, so I'll have to shorten parts or skip little bits if I continue. PLEASE REVIEW if you read this! I love to know what you think, because ****your opinion is valued highly by me****! Is it too boring because you may have already watched the film? Has that made it too predictable? Do my descriptions drag on too much? Is it too hard to follow etc?**

**Here goes: **

**(3rd Person - normal)**

**Tony jolted awake, his eyes snapping open. He shuddered as his senses awoke to the penetrating cold of the damp, dingy cave and his eyes focused. After his surgery he was taken here, no - shoved in here; It was the man quietly humming beside him who had the heart to place his muscular, yet limp, roughly cleaned up body onto the dusty, rickety metal-and-material raised bed. **

**Tony's P.O.V**

_**Argh - w-h-e-r-e a-m I? The pain? Where? Oh, god, is it over? Please let it be over? Am I… in…a, a cave? Grimy and bleak ceiling… argh my body - its all throbbing. **_**I'm coughing and I become aware of a huge wave of pain, from both my chest, whole body and nose. I splutter again, and realise my nose is obscured - I suddenly feel chocked, as though I can't breathe - I feel the soreness in my throat and quickly raise my hand instinctively to my nose to pull out the tube that was roughly stuck down there **_**- eurgh - I swear I'll kill whoever did this to me… **_**I pull it gently, feeling a tender throb. I cough again as I bring it all the way out of my nasal passage. I quickly breathe through my nose, only just smelling the dampness in my sudden consciousness.**

**Extending my numbed hand, I squeeze my fingers against my palm, to try to then stretch my fingers out in order to grip the handle of a cup by my bedside, but fail, and with my dullened senses not reacting in time, my fist collides with it, knocking it from the makeshift table. I go to lie back, defeated as I am hearing the cup clatter to the floor, but my parched throat and lips are begging me to try again. I now look further round to my left, and spot a bottle. Still coughing, I reach my hand out again, but stop in my tracks as my eyes rest upon a man shaving in a small mirror by my bedside, his back is to me. **_**Oh geez please don't hurt me… or are you in the same situation as me? Maybe I should lie back… **_**No - its just there, I am telling myself, as I put my curiosity and fear aside and reach out for the dusty bottle, its contents unknown, but I wish it to be water - the first time I had wished for water over wine - **_**though maybe liquor would dull the pain?**_** As I twist my torso round, I feel a tug on my chest. I go to fight against it, but am stopped when I hear the man's calm, accented voice warn me against my actions.**

**'I wouldn't do that if I were you' I hear the man say… what could he mean? I turn to look to my other side, at the source of the restriction… **

**Yinsens' P.O.V**

_**Goodness… how could they do this to him? **_**I wondered sadly as I saw three men with weapons enter the prison, one holding the battery and the other two holding Tony by his arms and legs, dump him heavily onto the concrete floor of the cave. I scooted over, as soon as they'd gone, and looked concerned when the crumpled Tony (Whom I had once seen in all his glory at an integrated circuit board presentation) groaning in his unconscious agony. I'd picked him up and heaved him with all my might over to the more comfy bed. **_**I fear I may have been a bit rough and tried to be as gentle as I could… though I guess I cannot feel like that's doing much for him, because **__**I**__** was the reason he was screeching and groaning under the (what must have been) excruciatingly painful blows, I was the one with the knife… I was the one performing the operation… I just did what I could as the men held the poor man down… and his writhing…but I was saving his life… but I should have made sure I got him some stronger anaesthetic or chloroform… maybe it would have been better if…if… **_

_**(Normal 3rd person)**_

**Yinsens' trail of thought was quickly cut off, as, in the reflection of the mirror he was shaving in front of, he noticed movement, and decided not to intervene as the weak, injured Tony Stark took the tube out of his nose. His breathing was disturbed, but seemed to be strong, so he didn't seem to mind the tubes' detachment. Though Yinsens thoughts were somewhat disturbing, he hummed seemingly happily to lighten the atmosphere and so that Tony wouldn't panic quite as much on coming to consciousness. On seeing Tony struggle against the restraining cable that was keeping him alive, and out of a lot more considerable pain, he calmly, though hastily said, 'I wouldn't do that if I were you.' Yinsen knew that after the abrupt introduction to immense pain and torture Tony had experienced, he had best not panic him. Also, he knew Tony was too weak to not do as he said had it gotten dangerous. Unfortunately, however, Tony didn't react too well to the wires connecting to the small metal cap over the centre of his chest and heart…**

**Tony turned slowly, wearily, and saw a large battery, with what looked like a yellowish stain from battery acid around the edges of the paper label on its shell. He followed the wires not only with his eyes, which he could see rather well with considering the grimy glimmers of light which were their only thing illuminating the cave, but also with his fingers. He followed them to his chest. His grimy, short, usually manicured fingernails scrabbled to tear at the bandages wrapped tightly around him, and taking a quick, nervous glance at the man beside him, he ripped them off, exposing a plate of metal… yes, he could feel its weight now… he saw the exposed wiring going into his very body… **_**oh-my-god…what-have-they-D..D- DONE.. to-to..t me? … **_**Tony thought anxiously, as he started to hyperventilate. His breathing quickened to shallow gasps, his eyes were large, in shock, looking towards the ceiling, his face went clammy, pale and cold, his scruffy hair flopped onto his face, a suffocating wave hit him, his whole body shook, tensioned, went rigid, he struggled for air, and he momentarily blacked out…**

**Regards, **

**True Shapeshifter **

**PLEEEEEEAAASSSE REVIEW! PLEASE?! **

**Hope you enjoyed it ^_^ :D **

**- Oh and are you following it so far? Can you tell what part this and the previous chapter is explaining? **

**THANK YOU! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

**Enjoy - sorry if it's a bit off track, *disclaimer: I own none of Marvel, etc etc.* Also, I don't want to offend anyone, or upset anyone. I am not sure about this chapter… haven't really felt in the mood for writing… :( Which is annoying because I LOVE WRITING!... Anyways so yeah - Please give me your thoughts and comments **

**Thank you!**

…

Yinsen stirred a saucepan of a soup/stew-type concoction, as Mr Stark examined his half-robotic chest. He was full of mixed emotion - rage, pain, annoyance, sadness, anxiety, and utter disbelief. This was his feelings without going too deeply into them, anyway. He knew he could have delved straight into that complex brain of his, and try to put his emotion into something better understood, something which he could forget about, mask easier, but they were everywhere, his mind was scattered, and as he looked at that reflection in the mirror, he tried to understand and gather lost, and unknown information. He had so many questions… and so few answers. He didn't know if he was thinking or dazed. In the end he settled for confused, though he wouldn't admit it.

He tried to process things through his tired brain, but it seemed to be too confused and exhausted for that. He would usually try to lighten the mood, but he couldn't. This was him. He didn't know where he was. He didn't have enough facts or information to see a way out. Too many variables. To see once more what he only just realised he appreciated so much. So much to live for, realised too late. Darkness so close to pulling him in. What had he to live for? His usually cheerful sounding voice box could just about manage to ask, in a low tone, what his electronic (he presumed) modification was. Now was a time to ask questions, though he dreaded the answers.

His expression, would at first have seemed hard to read, though it wasn't at all the Tony everyone knew. It was one of seriousness and dread.

"What have you done to me?"

"What I?...What I did is to save your life." Yinsen replied

"I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there's a lot left and its headed into your Atriel Septum - here wanna see? A little souvenir! Take a look."

**Tony's P.O.V**

_Right, so he saved my life. _Suddenly I regretted ever thinking, as I went through surgery, that _'I'd kill whoever did this to me'_ because, although I know what I meant and although I'd happily kill our captors, he saved me, and he is in the same boat as me. _A little souvenir… oh geez! _Catching the vial I shook it to see the tiny pieces of shrapnel within it, and I began to feel nauseous. _I never intended my weapons do this to people! Kill instantly, but not scatter their bodies with shards of metal that would penetrate so painfully, as I have experienced. _The words that I heard while holding the bottle only intensifies my guilt -

"I've seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead - because it takes about a week for the bombs to reach the vital organs-"

I quickly cut him off, staring at the floor ahead of me.

"What is this?" I say and look at him through impatient, anxious eyes - _I need an answer!_ I rest my wrist on my knee and clasp the 'souvenir' in my hand, trying to move on from the realisation of the misery my missiles cause - I mean, of course I know they cause terrible pain, affecting not only themselves but those dear to them, but this was unheard of - thousands dying and in pain for days until it finally sunk deeply into their hearts and...

It hit me that as a boy I'd felt hurt so much that I just masked it, created a mask to forget how I really felt and instead amplified parts of my character which meant no one could get to me (which I can presume are traits, as stated by the media, such as: Boastful, full of myself, stubborn, Jerk, playboy *Genius - of which I am very proud*) But these things… I realise that I used this image of me to forget the real me… I didn't change for anyone - I just found it easier to be happy I guess. I realise that I was so deep into being the 'mask' that I forgot my real self, and with that, my enjoyment of materialistic things came over what happened when my weapons left the lab… I knew I was deeply so unhappy about it that I just wore my 'mask' and ignored it. I shouldn't have.

"That, is an electromagnet, hooked up to a car battery, and its keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart! Hm?"

Yes, of course I get it. Not worst case scenario, but an unfamiliar one. So… I lay out the facts, mentally in front of me:

_Electromagnet - geez. Clever though, to come up with that…_

_Car battery - how long will that last? Is it safe? Does it need a transformer to make sure it's a safe flow of Joules per second? How old is it? Acid or alkali? Oh geez - I'll be limited now, lugging that around… if I live long enough to care… _

I contemplate these thoughts as I uneasily zip up my fleece, thankful of the warmth. I try to rest my perturbed mind, taking in my surroundings in an attempt to get some familiarity with them, and prove to myself its not that bad. Unfortunately though, I rest my eyes upon a camera… mmmph. On following my gaze, Yinsen, again lightening the mood, something of which I was thankful for, chirped in with "that's right - smile!" He said 'smile' with such an easy tone it took me aback - I didn't know it was possible to be so light hearted in our predicament! I wasn't exactly amused… I mean, yeah, ok, but my minds on other things right now, and 'smile' is bottom of the list, unless our captors don't read the instructions to their weapons…

I continue to look around, as Yinsen mentions how he had met me before, at a technical conference.

"I don't remember" I said in a flat tone.

With a chuckle, Yinsen pointed out 'You wouldn't! - If I had been that drunk I wouldn't much have been able to stand, let alone give a lecture on integrated circuits-"

Yet again, my yearning for simple, straight, factual answers caused me to speak as soon as he had finished his sentence, quite abruptly.

"where are we?" At this, I held back a flinch as my head span round to look at the heavy metal door, the view panel of which had been slid back, causing a clatter. A language I did not understand _urgh those same voices…_ filtered through, and were giving us orders, and I was again bewildered, and rose slowly to my feet as Yinsen, for the first time showing some form of urgency, directed me to stand up. He grabbed my arm and whispered 'do as I do' I immediately started to feel uneasy again, as they unlocked the door. I put my hands behind my head as Yinsen had done. I felt so vulnerable. The men entered… their hands gripping weapons, following Yinsen's lead. Guns. My guns. "those are my guns" I whispered quickly, realising something must be wrong, as I had not given permission for any such organisation to be in possession of such powerful tools. "How did they get my guns?!" I asked, anxiously… what if the base had been attacked, what if Rhodey had been hurt? Hit? Paralysed? Dead? "Do you understand me? Do - as - I - do" Yinsen hissed. I quickly cleared and tucked away my thoughts, trying to be as observant and sharp as possible. Yinsen was evidently nervous. So was I. A larger man came through as the lesser ranking guards parted. He stretched his arms wide in a gesture of mock good-will, or even pure joy at capturing me, Tony Stark. "The Mr, Tony Stark" He was switching between languages, intensifying the threat, amplifying the fact that they could plot anything and I wouldn't understand one bit of it. Thankfully, Yinsen translated. Though at the same time, not so thankfully, as the mans words, though at first seemingly welcoming (though I knew better!), had pure venom and penetrating menace.

"He says welcome Tony Stark, most famous mass murderer in the history of America; - He's honoured." All I could do was nod my head the tiniest of bit, to show my understanding. "He wants you to build the missile- the Jericho Missile that you demonstrated" Our captor then handed us a picture of the devastating weapon, "This one" I gritted my teeth. Something was wrong here. _Dealing under the table? A leak? Or gained through ransom? Of me? Or of… Pepper? Rhodes? Obie? No. I don't know! _Build the Jericho? For them? NOT BL***Y LIKELY! So, I said two, simple words… two words, which I would reinforce with power, through simple, blatant tone of voice. Words which turned Yinsens' gaze even more worried, and made the man so surprised he must have thought I was joking. He looked absolutely taken aback - that I, the stubborn jerk called Tony Stark would make that thing for him?

"I refuse."

…


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! **** Hope you liked last chapter - I'm not sure about this one either, because of Tony's thoughts and thought process… well I hope you know what I mean… rather a short chapter, would add more but just want to get some feedback before continuing… so please read and tell me what you think! **** Thank you! :D**

They could feel his desperate struggle as Tony tried to get out of their grip which held him submerged, suffocating. It seemed the more he struggled the more they forced him into the water, as their leader just smirked. Each second Stark was held under, he felt the icy liquid take his breath away, as though blocking his ability to function at all. But he had to fight these terrorists. His panic caused his breathing to grow ragged, which made him feel even more that he was dying and suffocating. He felt more than ever the weight on his chest - not only the water which seemed to compress his throat and wind pipe, taking the breath out of him, but the reactor.

Oh - those two words… the last two words Tony thought he was ever going to have said, as he seriously thought they would kill him. Drown him. As soon as that sentence - that answer - had left his lips, there had been many glances - Yinsens' of worry, the guards, half of surprise, half professional - showing no emotion, and, possibly the most disturbing one, being the large leaders' expression - his features twisting into an even more menacing face… he was at first surprised, possibly even offended, that their display of weapons and power had not swayed stubborn Stark's decision, but then it dawned on him… he smiled, realising it was time for torture… as Tony drew a breath in, trying to sustain a strong stance to back up his decision, the leader nodded, and one of the guards advanced before Tony knew it, and hit him with medium force with the butt of his gun, around the head. Tony was promptly caught after going to fall in his daze by two other guards, who dragged the man out of the room he had been kept in and to one round the corner. Tony was conscious, but dazed, and by the time his thoughts had cleared from white and his ears had stopped buzzing his captors had plunged his head to his shoulders into the freezing water.

**Tony's P.O.V**

They'd held me down for what seemed like an eternity. They'd wait until my thoughts were muddled again and I nearly fell limp. They could sense the moment I could no longer tell the difference between consciousness and death. Pain of my past or present.

Flashbacks hit me after just seconds - they were blinding… and the worst part was when I would be so disorientated I wouldn't know what was air and what was water. All I knew was that when I straightened up, I could breathe, without choking on water which would otherwise enter my lungs. So, whenever they hauled me up, I straightened and breathed, hoping the air would never run out.

_I am stubborn. Duh. I am not going to break. Not for them. I mean, if you want me to build a highly dangerous weapon for you to use against me - not to mention the newest most powerful one out there - a 'please?' and nice accommodation would go far… I mean, not 5 star, but food other than slop. But hey - no chance __. And what about Pepper? Rhodes? Obie? They need an arrogant a$* to annoy them now don't they… Pepper… and I owe Yinsen my life - I must get him out of this place. _In fact, It was really only these thoughts - which were in actual fact not really fully formed in part my sub-conscious (the small section which was not in fight or flight mode at the torture I was experiencing) which kept me from giving up. My mask, my stubborn jerk-ish ways had saved me. Made me believe there was a way out… that there had to be. I didn't acknowledge fully these thoughts, nor would be able to write them down, but I knew what I had to do and why. I knew what I meant.

…..:….

Meanwhile, out of his small-portion-of-positive-sub-conscious-mind, he felt he was dying. He probably was. The conscious part of his mind was clouded with pain and fear. He didn't know weather it was fight or flight… he couldn't process the meaning let alone suggest an answer… whichever works best. He thrashed as they gripped his hair and clothing to be able to hold him down, then when they pulled him back up again he would gasp and wheeze and choke and take such deep breaths, Yinsen wondered if he would survive - especially when he would be mid-breath when they would force him into the tub of water again. He surely would choke. Yinsen was thinking… and he didn't like what he was thinking about… other than seeing his friend this way, he couldn't stop thinking about how much worse it could become… and then, as if by thought alone… the arc reactor. It sparked. The water had short circuited the power source… Yinsen could only hope that the added yells and breaths and groans from Tony where because of, as bad as it sounds, their prolonged torture, because if it was because the arc reactor was failing, it would be a LOT worse… those yells would be because the shrapnel was digging through flesh in an attempt to pierce his heart… and Tony would die within hours. The added shrieks were not because of the shrapnel being released from the electromagnets' magnetism, but from the burning sparks from the reactor making contact with Tony's skin. At least, if he survived the torture, he would live then, because his electromagnet had not failed him.

… (Page break)

**Any thoughts?**

**Thank you! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! Please enjoy :) **

**Renewing my disclaimer: I mean no offence to anyone and don't own any part of Iron Man, Marvel, Characters etc.**

**In this chapter are scenes which are not in the film which I hope are plausible, trying to fill in possible gaps in the film, (explaining how he got a change of clothes and some fresh wounds etc, as you may notice in the films). Hope its not too graphic or upsetting or anything… **

The thrashing had gotten Tony nowhere. They had just continued to dunk him under until his gasps for air grew louder but his body held limper. Then came the psychological element. He was hauled from the water and released from the men's grip to flop to the floor, desperate to breathe. Gasping and choking, he was left there in a heap. Yinsen was shortly taken out of the room, and as soon as Tony had gathered the air and fought his shaking to stand up the guards came rushing back in and roughly bound his ankles and wrists to a chair. This is where he stayed for a week. Without food. Without water. Without sleep. As soon as they had him sat there he tried to get out but escapology wasn't exactly his forte. The Ten Rings knew that the genius' will would be the hardest thing to break, and they didn't want to cause huge, uncontrollable amounts of confusion (and therefore failure of building the Jericho) instead of breaking his spirit, but enough to make him comply. They also knew his genius mind would bounce back pretty quickly, though probably not his character and stubborn attitude. At least this is what they hoped. It started off in somewhat understandable uncertainty, as Stark had no idea what they were doing now, but as soon as he almost fell asleep (which was pretty hard in soaking wet, cold clothes and with tender burns) he was met with a punch to the ribs which, though not hard enough to break anything, definitely woke him up… he didn't really notice the person come in though, for the light that was shone brightly into the room for the whole day, before he even drifted, was enough to keep him awake until he was pretty confused.

'So that's your game' He said, his intelligent mind soon snapping back into focus and realising his predicament. All he got was a snarl type noise and a kick to the shin in reply. He could just make out the figure, and noticed yet another gun. Darn. Well, it was to be expected. Soon it was getting well on for two days and a half. The guards seemed to be doing shifts of half days, and Tony had been trying to cope with a throbbing headache for hours now. He was getting a slight buzzing in his ears and a pain around the back of his eyes. _I could stay up for a lot longer than this if I was engrossed in a project _he thought. This was true, as once Tony had everything he needed to get to work, was in the right mood and had something interesting to do, sleep and food could go amiss, but now, seconds rolled into each other, each the same, rolling and merging into minutes. Each second of which was felt as he desperately wanted sleep. On what was the third and-a-half night, Tony had been kicked awake roughly four times, and they started playing incomprehendable noise through the grimy old speakers. And it was LOUD… he would have said he was used to loud music, but AC DC sounds _good_ when played loudly. He could only liken it to white noise, but then again, his head had done a good job playing white noise for long before the speakers where introduced. His eyelids felt so, so heavy, his head felt heavy, his neck felt strained from slouching, his shins and thigh were aching from being kicked and kneed awake, his wrists felt sore from his bindings, his body shivered, his headache was deafening, like his brain had been shaken side to side and upside down, and lodged back in his skull at the wrong angle, his eyesight was unfocused, he was starving and parched, and even worse, all of his pain was heightened from days of sleep deprivation and cold, damp clothes. He was also extremely irritated… but also on the verge of giving up… at least - he knew he had lost the protection of his 'mask' momentarily - now he had to rely on his true, unexaggerated character and subconscious. Thankfully for him, his true character is still rather stubborn, though has more emotion. He really hoped his subconscious had taken all of the information that he found he was too confused to think about and was storing it until his consciousness could cope, for he seemed to be unable to think of anything, and if his subconscious had no 'backup' files filed then he doubted he could do much to do with engineering for the next couple of days at least, or until he got a few good nights sleep!

By the time of the seventh day, Tony could barely stay awake longer than eight minutes. And after the… what must have been twentieth time (within an hour) of jolting him awake with impact from a fist and knee, they decided to let him sleep. But Yinsen, watching it painfully unfold on a camera screen, held at gunpoint, knew that they knew they had not yet gotten him to break. He knew the man was just irritable, miserable and extra sensitive to pain and the cold. He felt that they must know that, and he didn't like what that meant… again - they were letting him sleep only a few hours so that it would be more 'fun' in their eyes when they beat him. As Yinsen had predicted, the bindings undone, the inventor was punched awake and promptly winded. Gaining his breath back he was just in time to receive a back handed slap round the face, the impact jolting his head to the side and his lip to split and start to bleed. Then - bad move: almost rolling out of the chair and onto all fours, he was open to attack. One of the men's feet collided with Tony's side pushing him off balance and onto his side. Then another one hit him in the ribs. Tony was aware, but confused and panicked at what was happening, and tried to get away from the man but was kicked down again. Yinsen was ushered in to watch, held away from Stark's aid by a guard, as the main, larger man came in to send threats. 'That Jericho will be built Stark' he said icily, in time with the other mans' kick. Tony groaned and tried to use his arms to push himself up. They were quickly kicked off balance and he was down again. 'Get up' the larger man said. Tony just rolled in on himself, on his side, wiping blood off his chin with his sleeve. 'I said get up!' The man said again. Tony tried but was defeated. Yinsen could just watch and hear the groans as they repeatedly kicked him in the stomach and legs. He hoped they wouldn't do any damage that would stop him from functioning normally, and he knew the mans lack of energy or ability to fight was simply because of the sleep deprivation and not serious injury at least. After a few more times, it seemed the higher ranking man had grown bored of watching Tony get repeatedly knocked down despite best efforts, and groaning, so he ordered the impact-dealing-guard to knock him out. With an added kick to the shin, that he did do.

**Yinsen's P.O.V.**

If I didn't know better, I'd almost have thought the man stupid… refuse!? Well, I guess he has more reasons than I do not to comply. I just hope I get out of here… or can get him out of here. I've seen that 'mask' he uses mainly in public… even around his friends, I'm sure, but that's not the man I see now. Anyone would think, if Stark was taken in an event such as this, that he'd just give them a good punch and worry about his beard growing too long. They don't think he has many emotions. But it really is getting to him… well, of course it would! But more than just the torture - he is realising how much pain he has caused people, and the terrors of the world. I'm not saying he was oblivious to it, but he ignored his feelings. He is, I think, now realising he was wrong to do that. He sees no way out. He must think that his 'mask' has created such a nasty image of himself that no one would care if he died. Maybe _he_ doesn't care if he died. I almost felt I was thinking for him while I was forced to watch him being deprived of sleep. He is probably hating himself. For the weapons, for his jerk-ish ways, I must show him, tell him people care. Tell him not to give up. For I know he is a good man and can do much good to this world.

After he was out cold, I was able to aid him. I quickly ordered for some new bandages and dressing for his chest, some rubber to patch the faults in the reactor and battery, a less damp top and a jacket. I quickly got him in better shape and looked over his added wounds - some minor bleeding and graze to the left side of his face and around his ear, from the beating, a small cut to the right side of his forehead, some bruises to the thighs, some painful looking bruises to the shin, (they knew they wanted him in pretty good condition, so they wouldn't break anything… yet… not until he had completed the Jericho at least…) He also had bruising to his chest and stomach, (a split lip which had practically healed) with burns around his chest and reactor. His wrists looked a bit red also, but nothing any way near as major as what they could do to him.

…. .. …..

They left Yinsen to attend to the weak and vulnerable, beaten form of Tony Stark, and left the concrete cave of a room to wait for the limp body to wake.


End file.
